About the same week we found out I was prego, I received my acceptance letter to study at the United Nations University for Peace to get a Masters in Media, Peace and Conflict studies in Costa Rica. Great, great timing. Being the post-modern, progressive man that he is, Rivers supported my academic endeavors by agreeing to take some time off school to be mommy for a year. So after his school year ended at BYU-Hawaii, we packed up (which included the digging of a 7 by 4 by 4 ft hole in a cricket field, some tupperware bins, duct tape, industrial stregth plastic bags and all of our belongings in said bags. Oh yeah, and a treasure map) and hea
ded to Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is an interesting place. It feels like being in perpetual liminality, hanging somewhere between rustic, Latin American life and North American affluence. I think Rivers appreciates the country more than I do, since he gets to see monkey
s, toucans and other fun creatures on his daily runs in the mountains. I've spent all of my time here either being uncomfortably pregnant or a new, hypochondriactic mother (in her 6 weeks of existence, I've been convinced that Harper has had Cerebral Paulsy, Toxicity of the blood and was dying of hunger, thirst and too much sleep. Seriously. I was afraid she was going to sleep to death, which Rivers has assured me is, in fact, impossible.) Oh yeah, and I'm in grad school.
The first place we lived was a little house on a huge farm. Rivers really lived up to his manly man beard by collecting fruit, chopping wood with a machete and reveling in the great outdoors. Then poop started to come up the shower drain whenever we flushed the toilet and I had to squat over the open-air septic tank in our backyard at 2am when I was 9 months pregnant because one more flush and the poop would have surpass the depth of the shower. Time to move.
The place we live now is a little noisier with a lot less foliage, but at least we don't have to wash the shower before we shower. School is demanding but I'm pretty into it. Rivers has continued his allegiance to beardom despite the lack of vegetation by starting a litt
le garden. And, despite my highest ho
pes and deepest wishes, our baby turned out to be a human and not a puppy, which ended up
being a good thing. Life is awesome.
this post made me laugh {out loud} i must tell you! you totally crack me up! your writing is so very descriptive, i totally feel like i am there with you {thank goodness i am not, as i would not survive}! thank you for sharing your life with me {and others}! it makes my day! have a good one and tell tommy and harper hello from hermiston!
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